Multiple Websites (Linux)

This topic describes how to add a new channel to an existing installation.

See also Multiple Channels for steps you need to take in the XperienCentral user interface to complete/enhance this process.

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Expanding the Directory Structure

For each new channel, the directory structure needs to be expanded so the files from the new channel will have their own place in the total directory structure. In the directory structure below the new directories are depicted in bold.

/vol/www/tomcat-mywebstie/deploy/appBase

/vol/www.mywebstie/configuration

/streaming/

/system/

/web-docs/

/work/

/mysecondsite/web-docs/cfg

/upload

/upload_mm

/static/ -> ../../docs/static

/wm/ -> ../../web-docs/wm

The Unix commands to create this new structure:

cd /vol/www/mywebsite/
mkdir mysecondsite
mkdir mysecondsite/web-docs
mkdir mysecondsite/web-docs/cfg
mkdir mysecondsite/web-docs/upload
mkdir mysecondsite/web-docs/upload_mm
cd mysecondsite/web-docs
ln –s ../../web-docs/static static
ln –s ../../web-docs/wm wm
cd /vol/www/mywebsite/
chown –R tomcat.www .

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Make the New Hostnames Resolvable

The server on which XperienCentral is installed needs to be able to resolve the hostnames that are used for the edit environment and the external environment of XperienCentral. In the example the hostnames are www.mysecondsite.com and edit.mysecondsite.com. Add the hostnames used to the file /etc/hosts if the used hostnames don’t resolve to the right IP address on the server.

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Change the Apache Configuration

When adding a new channel to XperienCentral, the configuration of the Apache web server also needs to be changed. In the configuration files the new URLs for the website and its edit environment need to be present. The change is explained for both Apache version 2.0 and version 2.2.

Changes in httpd.conf (Apache 2.0)

For the new channel two new virtual host entries need to be added to the httpd.conf file. For the external environment of the website consider the following:

<VirtualHost *:80>
   ServerName www.mysecondsite.com
   DocumentRoot "/vol/www/mywebsite/mysecondsite/web-docs/"
   ErrorLog logs/www.mysecondsite.com_error.log
   CustomLog logs/www.mysecondsite.com_custom.log common
   <Directory "/vol/www/mywebsite/mysecondsite/web-docs/">
      Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
      AllowOverride None
      Order allow,deny
      Allow from all
   </Directory>
   <IfModule mod_jk.c>
      JkMount /web/* mywebsite
   </Ifmodule>
   <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
      RewriteEngine On
      RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/web/
      RewriteRule ^/(.*)\.htm$ /web/$1.htm [PT,L]
   </IfModule>
</VirtualHost>

The internal edit environment of the new channel also requires the following additions:

<VirtualHost *:80>
   ServerName edit.mysecondsite.com
   DocumentRoot "/vol/www/mywebsite/mysecondsite/web-docs/"
   ErrorLog logs/edit.mysecondsite.com_error.log
   CustomLog logs/edit.mysecondsite.com_custom.log common
   <Directory "/vol/www/mywebsite/mysecondsite/web-docs/">
      Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
      AllowOverride None
      Order allow,deny
      Allow from all
   </Directory>
   <Directory "/vol/www/mywebsite/mysecondsite/web-docs/wm/b/">
      ExpiresActive ON
      ExpiresDefault "now plus 10 minutes"
      Header set Cache-Control "max-age=600"
   </Directory>
   <IfModule mod_jk.c>
      JkMount /web/* mywebsite
   </Ifmodule>
   <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
      RewriteEngine On
      RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/web/
      RewriteRule ^/(.*)\.htm$ /web/$1.htm [PT,L]
   </IfModule>
</VirtualHost>

Changes in httpd-vhosts (Apache 2.2)

For each new channel in XperienCentral, two new virtual host entries to httpd-vhosts.conf are needed. This file is located in the /vol/www/server/conf/extra directory of Apache. For the external environment of the website add the following:

<VirtualHost *:80>
   ServerName www.mysecondsite.com
   DocumentRoot "/vol/www/mywebsite/mysecondsite/web-docs/"
   ErrorLog logs/www.mysecondsite.com_error.log
   CustomLog logs/www.mysecondsite.com_custom.log common
   <Directory "/vol/www/mywebsite/mysecondsite/web-docs/">
      Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
      AllowOverride None
      Order allow,deny
      Allow from all
   </Directory>
   ProxyPass /web/ ajp://localhost:8009/web/ ttl=600
   <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
      RewriteEngine On
      RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/web/
      RewriteRule ^/(.*)\.htm$ /web/$1.htm [PT,L]
   </IfModule>
</VirtualHost>

The following is an example of the minimal setup of the virtual host for the internal environment of XperienCentral:

<VirtualHost *:80>
   ServerName edit.mysecondsite.com
   DocumentRoot "/vol/www/mywebsite/mysecondsite/web-docs/"
   ErrorLog logs/edit.mysecondsite.com_error.log
   CustomLog logs/edit.mysecondsite.com_custom.log common
   <Directory "/vol/www/mywebsite/mysecondsite/web-docs/">
   Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
   AllowOverride None
   Order allow,deny
   Allow from all
   </Directory>
   <Directory "/vol/www/mywebsite/mysecondsite/web-docs/wm/b/">
      ExpiresActive ON
      ExpiresDefault "now plus 10 minutes"
      Header set Cache-Control "max-age=600"
   </Directory>
   ProxyPass /web/ ajp://localhost:8009/web/ ttl=600
   <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
      RewriteEngine On
      RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/web/
      RewriteRule ^/(.*)\.htm$ /web/$1.htm [PT,L]
   </IfModule>
</VirtualHost>

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Communicate Technical Details to the Software Developer

The software developer needs the following details from the system administrator:

Hostname of the website and the edit environment (in the example from this document this would be www.mysecondsite.com and edit.mysecondsite.com);
The DocumentRoot of the new website (in the example from this document this would be /vol/www/mywebsite/mysecondsite/web-docs/).

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Request a New configuration.xml

The configuration.xml contains a list of hostnames which will be supported by XperienCentral. The new hostnames for the new channel have to be present in the configuration.xml otherwise it’s not possible to create the new channel in XperienCentral.

The software developer requests from GX a new configuration.xml; he or she then communicates the new hostnames that XperienCentral has to support.
After the software developer has received the new configuration.xml from GX Software, he or she will send this file to the system administrator.

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Process the New configuration.xml

The system administrator saves the new configuration.xml over the old one. Based on the directory structure in this document, the new configuration.xml has to be saved to /vol/www/mywebsite/configuration/.

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Create the New Channel within XperienCentral

The software developer can now create the new channel within XperienCentral. XperienCentral has a wizard for creating the new channel. In step 2 of this wizard, technical details are requested, therefore it’s a good idea to gather this information before starting the wizard. The required details are:

Field Name Step 2	How to Determine the Value of this Field
Field Name Step 1	How to Determine the Value of this Field
Name	The name of the channel. This name is used in the title of the home page and in the title bar of the browser or browser tab.
Identifier	A unique identifier used to identify the channel internally within XperienCentral. This is a string consisting of letters and numbers (no spaces).
Based on channel	Select the channel that the new channel will be based upon. The new channel inherits the core configuration of the one it is based on.
Hostname	The hostname of the channel (`www.mysecondsite.com` for example).
Generator	The hostname of the edit environment (`edit.mysecondsite.com` for example).
Default e-mail address	Default address for sending e-mails.
Folder for uploads	The folder where the uploads will be placed. This is the `DocumentRoot` directory plus `upload`. In the example from this document this would be `/vol/www/mywebsite/mysecondsite/web-docs/upload/`.
Upload URL	Based on the previous folder name this would be `/upload/`.
Folder for multimedia uploads	Multimedia files (files that are stored within the Content Repository) are stored in the `upload_mm` folder. This is the `DocumentRoot` directory plus `upload_mm`. In the example from this document this would be `/vol/www/mywebsite/mysecondsite/web-docs/upload_mm/`.
Multimedia Upload URL	Based on the previous folder name this would be `/upload_mm/`.
Descriptor folders	These folders contain the presentation JSPs. XperienCentral scans these folders in search for new, changed, or deleted presentations. The folders need to be separated with a semicolon (;). The default value for this property is `/WEB-INF/project/;/WEB-INF/wm/jsp`. If you want to ignore the default presentations from XperienCentral and just use your own presentation plugin, then you can enter a value for it, for example: `/WEB-INF/project/<classname of your presentation plugin>`. The exact folder name of your deployed plugin can be looked up in `/vol/www/tomcat-mywebsite/deploy/appBase/web/WEB-INF/project/`.
Redirect base directory	The same as the `DocumentRoot` from Apache. In the example from this document this would be `/vol/www/mywebsite/mysecondsite/web-docs/`.

With the details from the previous table at hand, perform the following tasks in XperienCentral to create the new channel:

Log into XperienCentral with a user that has either a developer or administrator role.
Navigate to Configure > Channel Configuration.
At the top of this window there is a pull-down named [Select website]. Select the option "<New website>" to create a new website. If this option is not available, then the license doesn’t allow creating any more websites. Contact GX to buy the license for an additional website and to obtain a new configuration.xml.
After selecting the "<New website>" option, a wizard appears. Follow the steps in this wizard.

After the successful conclusion of the wizard, a new channel will be created within XperienCentral. This channel contains one page: the home page. Log into the new channel with the Developer or Administrator user and create new users.

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Multiple Websites (Linux)

In This Topic

Expanding the Directory Structure

Make the New Hostnames Resolvable

Change the Apache Configuration

Changes in httpd.conf (Apache 2.0)

Changes in httpd-vhosts (Apache 2.2)

Communicate Technical Details to the Software Developer

Request a New configuration.xml

Process the New configuration.xml

Create the New Channel within XperienCentral